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This iconic fighting game continues to hold numerous undisclosed elements and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its original launch in gaming halls. A new collection covering the brand's formative years, comprising a quartet of arcade releases, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, is more than just a well-emulated set of legendary games including less celebrated releases — it additionally serves as a detailed chronicle about the development of the iconic franchise.

Even as a lifelong Mortal Kombat fan who has paid close attention its development and progression, there was plenty new for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Makes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, part playable archive. The collection includes emulated versions of the pioneering arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of certain releases. This compilation also features the franchise's attempts at spin-off titles, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's worst entries.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a highlight reel anthology, but an examination of the series' formative period, when the development team Midway and franchise originators the visionary developers were discovering methods to create a combat title, produced using film material of live performers, on the fly. Observing the archival material — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and reproductions of classic advertisements, illustrated stories, and even interoffice faxes — it's astonishing to observe how the franchise evolved from humble beginnings to a global sensation. It's truly remarkable to watch a handful of early video game creators, developing without clear direction or guidance, channel their pop-culture interests into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and the founders' vocational paths at the no-longer-operating Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals reckoned with how to consistently surpass their achievements, encountering significant demand to replicate their success. It represents an intriguing historical record constructed using analog films and traditional photos and manual drawings, which reveal the self-made character of Mortal Kombat's development and how personal recommendations helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its arcade heyday. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's highly engaging collection of mini-documentaries that spans games, comics, films and even the comical physical events. The collection additionally features some unreleased actions and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Playable Component

Interspersed along the five-segment historical film's chronology are invitations to experience the actual titles. At certain intervals, viewers can hop into a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on current technology.

I dedicated most of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here remain enjoyable, particularly during direct competitive sessions. Yet competing with the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unbalanced the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. Computer-directed fighters blatantly cheat to win or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Lacking someone to play against — network gaming is included in most titles in the collection, but rather basic in functionality — you'll be missing out.

Technical Presentation

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the collection, a mix of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I have noticed a handful slight anomalies — primarily delayed responses and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are largely presented as-is, the development team has incorporated various clever quality-of-life features and graphical adjustment settings. For example, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and opt to have endless periods to execute finishing moves. There are also options for revealing concealed combatants, without having to perform some esoteric trick to access them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or domestic TVs, or the greenscale screen of a portable gaming device. A particularly nice touch is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames surrounding the screen, with your selected Mortal Kombat title faithfully and subtly duplicating against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Bonus Elements

There are plenty of appreciated elements beyond the historical footage and recreated vintage titles, including a music player that allows users to rediscover the soundtracks of different fighting releases excluding the sounds of combatants violently defeating each other. Also present are character profiles that contain backgrounds and numerous narrative components displayed via arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at one-on-one internet-based play in coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but provided the ability to challenge online opponents and featured various slight error corrections and adjustments. However, this network version never gained traction, in part